I don't know a whole lot about CD-RW's. I pretty much just want to make my own "Best of" CD's, burn onto CD music I get off the web, and back up my stuff. What features should I be looking for? What's the deal with buffer size? ------------------
TraJ- Definetly spend at leas $150, try to get a good brand (i have a sony). Dont go for a cheap $20 dollar one. ------------------ "Kenny, The Basketball scientist, Whoo Hoo." Charley B, on TNT
buffer size is memory to prevent errors which result in wasted blanks. try to find a drive with 4MB buffer. as for speed...a 4x burner takes about 18 minutes to burn a 74 minute disc. an 8x takes 9 minutes. 12x is the high end now I think (though I think I 've heard of 16x) i'll try to find some good deals for you
I just got a good HP one for $199. It's middle of the road quality, but it does the job. Only thing I don't like is the program that came with it is lame. I haven't had time to search for a better one. Any suggestions on an mp3 to .wav converter program, anyone? (Mine is 10X speed) ------------------ Behad Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS [This message has been edited by Behad (edited December 19, 2000).]
WinAmp does mp3 to wav... Hit ctrl-p (Preferences) and then select output and then out_disk or something like that. Then when you play a mp3 it'll save it as a wav of the same name in a directory you designated.
If you want a high-quality CD-RW drive, you might want to take a look at Plextor's CD-RW drives....I plan to get one myself pretty soon. I've heard from various places (including this BBS, and also PC World magazine) that Plextor makes the best competitively priced CD-RW drives out there. ------------------
yeah. i have a plextor 12/10/32 for a couple of months.. it hasn't dissppoint.. plextor is THE maker in cd-burners.. ------------------
Hey behad, there's a application specifically for your needs which I downloaded a few months back and works great. IT's called MP3 to wave converter. You just right click on your MP3 file and it the menu you can pick "conver to Wav" You can find it at www.mp3towave.com The funny thing is I found it after searching everywhere (Download.com, Tucows, Yahoo, etc) and finally I just typed MP3towave in the URL and boom it was there. ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
Here's the deal....The program I that came with the burner does the conversion fine, but the organization of the files sux. When I want to burn a cd, it searches out ALL the mp3's on my hard drive before I can begin. So to make the cd, I have to search thru about 1200 files to get the songs I want. Does this program you describe allow me to organize my files into folders so that I can find what I want and drag and drop them onto the d: drive (my burner drive)? ------------------ Behad Sergeant at Arms of the Clutch BBS
Yep. You just open up the folder in which your MP3(s) are stored and right click on whatever MP3(s) you want to convert and run the program, it'll save it to the default directory of C:/Program Files/MP3 To Wave Converter/Converted Files You can change the location and/or specify different folders for different files. ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
As far as software goes, ya'll should try Adaptec EZ CD creater 4. All you do is drag and click mp3's to wav's and then burn to CD. On the hardware side, you can't go wrong with a HP. Plextor is top of the line. I personally use an LG, purchased from buy.com, doesn't work too well cause I only have 48MB RAM. ------------------ "Oh No..." -Bill Walton in 97 just before Stockton's buzzer beater
For burners, the status is usually: 1. Plextor -- by far the best, but VERY expensive 2. Yamaha -- they made the first consumer CDR and they still make one of the best 3. Smart and Friendly -- I've never used them, but they're supposed to be good however, I'd go with #4 instead, just because I've no exp. w/ S+F 4. HP -- Very popular and very good. I have a Yamaha -- no probs whatsoever. No coasters that were the fault of the CDRW (had some coasters come from copying CDs, but it was the other drive's fault). They're very well-priced and work exceptionally well. My roommate has the HP USB burner. It's worked really well for him, but it has produced a few coasters. At home he has a Plextor SCSI external that is awesome. Plextors rock, but they're really expensive. Yamaha's are great and I've never had a problem with mine. HPs are also really good too. Stay away from the iOmega ZipCD though . . . and the Ricoh . . . you've been warned ------------------ "I am who I am, who I am, well who am I?" -- Dave Matthews Band "Dancing Nancies"
Regarding the Plextors...you sure about that "very expensive" part? Also, what price range would you classify as "really expensive" for a CD-RW drive? I got the following from PC World's website (it's dated Nov. 22, 2000 so it's kinda old): Source link: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article.asp?aid=34722 ------------------ [This message has been edited by Cold Hard (edited December 19, 2000).]
I have a Plextor PlexWriter 12/10/32A with the "BurnProof" technology. My suggestion is to get one of these. Another suggestion : You can get a STEAL of a deal on this drive at www.onvia.com right now. They have the drive for $199.99. Buy something else that brings the total to $200 (they have a pen there for $1.24 lol! buy it!) and you can use the following code to get another $40 off. 7GDF-R5MA-3LX6-8QTF You end up paying about $150-$160 for the drive + a lame pen + no tax + they may have free shipping, too, but I'm not sure. Not bad... ------------------ I use smilies and I LOL -- I'm your worst nightmare.
if you can get an internal one, go that route. USB isn't bad, but I have a Sony Spressa, that required a lot of searching for new and latest drivers. Also if you have Windows2000 make sure the drive is compatible, some aren't. I've heard HP externals are good. Also for a computer CD Burner YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY those blank CD's marked "audio only" those are for the home audio component burners like Philips and Pioneer, etc. Good Luck ooh... try to find your drive through CNET they have a great price comparison shopping guide... rH ------------------ *** THIS SPACE FOR LEASE ***
That sounded like a great Christmas present for myself, so I went through with it too. Your coupon didn't work form me, though, DoD. Do you know where I could find a valid coupon code? ------------------ The Badministrator
sorry keely, they pulled that $40 coupon deal. they do have less stellar ones though $50 off $500, $100 off $1000 and $200 off $2000
Thanks for the heads up, nonetheless. I went ahead and bought it through Onvia. ------------------ The Badministrator
Keely, and others UGH!! I hate that. They pulled that deal right after I posted it; I probably should've tested it out before I posted. I had a friend use that code a couple of days ago, so it was indeed valid. Sorry! But if any of you guys are still interested in that drive, it's one hell of a drive and that $199 is the lowest price I could find. ------------------ I use smilies and I LOL -- I'm your worst nightmare.
Why?? It's too late for me anyway..I got a ZipCD 3 months ago for 149. Has worked great for me, I haven't churned out a coaster yet.. Burns a CD-R in about 9 minutes and writes files to a CD-RW pretty quick. Have I just been lucky so far?? ------------------ Give It To Moochie! Sergeant at Arms of the Moochie Norris fan-club